But they aren’t the only fresh faces on the Vancouver soccer scene

VANCOUVER — So as I sit with increasing anxiety in front of a blank laptop screen, here’s the thing about being the new guy on the soccer beat.

My editor wants an insightful preview of the season ahead for the Vancouver Whitecaps, which begins Saturday at BC Place against arch-rival Toronto FC. I know the Reds are hated because I watched MLS and Voyageurs Cup games on TV last year and I’m a voracious reader of newspapers.

But, I didn’t see a single minute of the Whitecaps eight pre-season games this month except for some grainy goal-scoring video highlights online.

New midfielder Daigo Kobayashi? He plays soccer? I thought he was that internationally acclaimed hot-dog eating champion.

English Premier League veteran Nigel Reo-Coker? Not sure I’d ever heard of him before last week. Now, if you’d told me Ryan Giggs or Frank Lampard was going to be a Whitecap, I might have had a chance of sounding halfway intelligent discussing soccer, or football, of whatever we’re going to call it.

Cripes, I was still asking observers at practice on Tuesday, ‘Who’s that guy there in the blue pinnie? Who’s No. 32? Who’s that at left back? The short-haired guy at forward, that Herzog?’

I’m just being brutally honest, here. And here’s a warning to the rabid Southsiders and the rest of the Caps cognoscenti – lay off. Give me a couple of months before flashing a red card. Or asking me if I know the difference between an on-field dummy and a press box one.

Okay, with that out of the way, here’s my take on a club that started decently, went 1-6-1 down the stretch, snuck into the playoffs at 11-13-10 and lost in the first round, 2-1, to eventual champion Los Angeles Galaxy.

“We took over a team that was the worst in MLS,” said Rennie, a young man of faith whose positive, confident, control-your-own-attitude approach seems perfectly suited to the job at hand.

“They had lost a lot of games, given up a lot of goals. Players were despondent. When we took over that team, we knew a lot of work had to be done just to get to the playoffs and it’s rare to go from last place to the playoffs.

“As the club developed further, there would be less need to make as many changes. We’ve got a good group of players we can work with now going forward and, hopefully, for seasons to come. It’s a good mix. If we have to make changes (this year), it’s only going to be one or two, no more than that and, hopefully, less than that.”

The starting backline returns intact, as do the goalkeepers. They’re all at least 30, with central defenders O’Brien and sore-legged Jay DeMerit both 33, right back Y.P. Lee turning 36 in April, and ‘keeper Joe Cannon hitting 38. Still, there is something to be said in any sport for continuity and experience.

And if any of his defenders falter, Rennie feels he’s added some quality depth and youth in the likes of Brad Rusin, an imposing six-foot-four central defender who played previously for the coach at Carolina, and Honduran international Johnny Leveron.

The forwards, the ones expected to start at least, are pretty much the same group that finished up last season when Vancouver scored just 35 goals, third worst in the MLS. That includes dynamic second-year striker Darren Mattocks, who now cooks his Jamaican specialties with oven mitts on and a fire retardant apron, Kenny Miller, the Scottish-born designated player with plenty to prove, and mercurial Brazilian Camilo, the Caps’ leading scorer the last two seasons.

You can also probably throw talented Omar Salgado, the club’s first ever draft pick, into that mix, if he ever gets his ailing foot healthy. He’s still not practising full time and is likely at least a month away.

The midfield and wings are where the main off-season overhaul has taken place. The Caps brought in two guys who should be in their prime, the 28-year-old Reo-Coker, whose captaincy of West Ham, Aston Villa and Bolton in the Premier League attests to his leadership capabilities, and the 30-year-old Kobayashi, whose Japanese league experience is supplemented by stints in the Netherlands and Greece, to team with incumbent Gershon Koffie, a rising star.

And top-five 2013 draft picks Kekuta Manneh, an 18-year-old Gambian native who could start Saturday, and Erik Hurtado, who grew up in Oregon, provide a much-needed infusion of speed. In combination with the blazingly quick Mattocks, who thinks he can get 20 goals this season, they could have defenders quaking in their boots.

“They’ve got quality in the final third that are really important to us,” says Rennie, although both he and captain DeMerit preached caution.

“These are young guys,” said DeMerit. “And it’s hard to expect big, big things from young guys. We need to be careful the pressure we put on these guys. But saying that, in the pre-season they’ve shown they can make a difference and that’s what we’ll ask of them.”

While he insists last year’s late-season chemistry issues were overblown and had as much to do with losing games as anything else, Rennie likes the way this year’s squad has bonded through training camps and pre-season games in Arizona and South Carolina.

“They’re comfortable with each other, they’re having fun, they’re playing with confidence. Through the year, there are going to be ups and downs, but overall we’ve got good people who are coming together well.”

DeMerit, who is heading into his third season with the club, says the chemistry is as good as it’s ever been.

“The guys we’ve added this off-season are either old pros that know how to integrate themselves into teams quickly or are guys that have been familiar with the coaches before. And we’ve got a core group of guys who now have been together for a couple of years. That’s a welcome thing.

“And now to be in a new training ground (at UBC) and to have even better facilities, all those things add to the mood of the group. We’re excited for Saturday.”

With the improved depth, however, Rennie’s most challenging task might be massaging egos and keeping players happy, although there could be plenty of minutes to distribute if the Caps can win the Canadian title and advance through CONCACAF Champions League play.

“With players in our squad who could be called up for international duty and the possibility of getting into CONCACAF ... there’s going to be lots of games and our resources could be more stretched than you think,” said Rennie.

A 6-1-1 pre-season, including wins over MLS clubs New England and Houston, the explosiveness that Manneh and Hurtado have shown at times, and encouraging signs from a fit and motivated Miller have created a real sense of optimism.

“Every club in Major League Soccer and any club that’s starting up a new season always feels optimistic,” says Caps president Bob Lenarduzzi. “But I do believe sincerely that we’ve added some very good pieces.”

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